December 2013

December 27, 2013

The entertaining PBS portrait of composer Marvin Hamlisch, aptly titled, “What He Did For Love,” provides the music, his method for creating it, and the man. Fortunately for producer Dori Berinstein, and for us, Hamlisch was often photographed and the footage of him performing, accepting awards, Pulitzer, Oscars, Emmys, Tonys, so much a part of our recent cultural history, makes our loss all the more poignant: he died a little more than a year ago at age 68, clearly with much more music to give.

December 25, 2013

The French provincial brocade couches in Carmine and Dolly’s Camden, New Jersey house in “American Hustle” tell you what you need to know about the characters’ domestic life. But the “American Hustle” soundtrack goes far to define the movie’s con artists’ ethos; for example you hear The Jefferson Airplane’s classic “White Rabbit,” but it’s not The Airplane. So what is it? Another put on? A leitmotif for a fake sheikh from the Emirates? Susan Jacobs, the “American Hustle"'s music supervisor, filled me in about the creation of “White Rabbit” –turns out, in Arabic, and other music backstories.

December 24, 2013

Invisibility is perhaps desirable if you are going to be the mistress of one of the most popular writers of all time. The story of Charles Dickens’ mistress, a young actress, Nelly Ternan 27 years his junior is compelling material, Ralph Fiennes’ second feature as director. Known for performances in The English Patient, Quiz Show, Schindler’s List among many other star turns including Lord Voltemort in the Harry Potter films, Ralph Fiennes was celebrated at this year’s New York Film Festival. As director and star of The Invisible Woman adapted from Claire Tomalin’s historic novel, he plays Charles Dickens as a boyish man in love with his mistress (Felicity Jones). Rather than being a woman scorned, the revelation is that Nelly survived potential scandal intact. Even Dickens’ wife and mother of his 10 children played with remarkable compassion by Joanna Scanlan seemed to be okay with the arrangement.

December 22, 2013

Not all soldiers are heroes, but in Lone Survivor, director Peter Berg’s film based on the book by Marcus Luttrell, heroism is in full display. The movie’s three acts are well defined: first, the rigorous training of a team of Navy Seals, then a covert mission of four men on a mountain to take out a key target known as Operation Red Wings, and third, an Afghan village in the aftermath of this operation. When asked whether or not this was a movie for or against war, Mark Wahlberg who portrays Luttrell and is also a producer, said, “Neither. This film is pro soldier.”

December 21, 2013

Leonardo DiCaprio made a cameo at The Four Seasons on Wednesday at the luncheon celebrating his new movie, Wolf of Wall Street. Brief public appearances are par for the course for this star; we forgave him cutting out before the short ribs. He was en route with director Martin Scorsese to the White House to show this edgy crime, sex and drugs romp to the first couple. Something tells me that they are cool enough to love this hilarious comedy, but may have to keep their exuberance under wraps. Leo stars as Jordan Belfort, a Wall Street stockbroker whose addictions to money, power, sex, drugs, and excess may resonate in a bad way with those still bitter over the pass the financial wheeler-dealers got over their Main Street victims.

Christmas came early this year. First there was the gift of the documentary “20 Feet from Stardom,” now shortlisted for the Best Documentary Oscar. Then, there were the celebrations: the most recent on Thursday night at the Edison Hotel’s Rum House featuring cast members, Judith Hill and Lisa Fischer, accompanied by pianist Robbie Kondor for Christmas carols. Director Morgan Neville introduced the evening, saying that he never expected the film to have this kind of success: if you haven’t seen it, the documentary tells the story of backup singers with testimonies of Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Springsteen all singing the praises of the less famous women with the musical chops that make the front men sound so good. In the documentary, Neville unearths a story about race, gender, the consequences of Michael Jackson’s death, making this film resonate in ways larger than the great music performed.

December 15, 2013

Never one to miss a quip, Harvey Weinstein introduced the movie August: Osage County at its Zeigfeld premiere, noting Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts were singled out for Golden Globe acting nominations: “We like to promote new talent.” In truth, the Weston family depicted in this tragicomedy is an ensemble, reflected in a SAG nomination. This ensemble is tightly knit, troubled in the way American families can grate and love. Both matriarch Violet (Streep) and daughter Barbara (Roberts) are called monsters, and frankly in terms of the dysfunction, that’s putting it mildly. Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play by Tracy Letts, the film distills scathing dialogue, and blocks scenes so that the claustrophobic effect of the big house translates to the wide flat plains as well. The Ziegfeld’s expansive screen is ideal for viewing this American tableau.

December 12, 2013

After a screening of his American Hustle, at a party at the Monkey Bar sponsored by OPI, director David O. Russell held court. Having paved the road toward Best Actor/ Actress awards for many cast in his movies over the years, actors must be dying to work with him although he made it clear that the American Hustle dream ensemble, a mix of Silver Linings Playbook and Fighter vets is now something of a repertory. This morning, not surprising: Amy Adams,Christian Bale,Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper were all nominated for Golden Globes.

December 04, 2013

Lee Daniels, always a provocateur, addressed the huge crowd at Cipriani Wall Street at this week’s Gotham Awards with a confession: he hates white people. No one gasped. It was not clear whether this proclamation was part of his complaint that no one in the cavernous space was listening to his introduction of honoree Forest Whitaker. Was he merely trying to grab the attention? All night long at this, the annual awards given to “independent” –i.e. non-Hollywood fare, speakers seemed daunted by the noise in the room throwing off the rhythms of, for example, the evening’s host, comedian Nick Kroll, who was decidedly unfunny. Still, Whitaker managed to present a gentle, Zen-like oration. And Steve Buscemi speaking of James Gandolfini delivered a moving tribute to the Tony Soprano actor who died so suddenly this past summer. “What a loss,” he noted of this most beloved actor whose family was present for the tribute.

December 03, 2013

After a best actor award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, there’s no stopping Bruce Dern. As Woody in Alexander Payne’s masterpiece “Nebraska,” featured in Toronto, New York, and the Hamptons Film Festivals, he’s a doddering but endearing old fool who takes seriously one of those announcements that he’s a sweepstakes winner, and convinces his son to drive him from Billings to Omaha to pick up his millions. With old school modesty, Dern says that the obstacle to making this film which took a long time—he received the script 10 years ago this week—was not about casting him, a quasi-bankable character actor in the lead role, but that it’s shot in black and white. At lunch at Il Gattopardo this week, he applauded Paramount for letting Payne make his film the way he wanted to make it. And now, there’s no question that Dern will join a line-up that includes Robert Redford for “All is Lost,” contenders for the Best Actor Oscar.